The tenge (Kazakh: теңге, teñge) is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tïın (тиын, also transliterated as tiyin or tijin). It was introduced on 15 November 1993 to replace the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 tenge = 500 rubles. The ISO-4217 code is KZT.
The word tenge in the Kazakh and most other Turkic languages means a set of scales (cf the old Uzbek tenga or the Tajik borrowed term tanga). The origin of the word is the Turkic teŋ- which means being equal, balance. The name of this currency is thus similar to the lira, pound and peso. The name of the currency is related to the Russian word for money Russian: деньги / den'gi, which was borrowed from Turkic.
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